Cynthia Dion:As he stepped out of the room, I turned to gaze at my father, who looked as if he'd seen a ghost."I swear, I wasn't gonna help him," he began pleading with his hands clasped in front of his chest. "You're my daughter, right? You won't harm your old man," he looked terrified. It seemed like he could see the wild side within me better than I could feel it."I won't harm you. Just make sure you don't even talk about Flora to yourself," I cautioned, and he got the message."I won't ever. I don't even know where she is, and no one will ever discover her," he vowed, and I nodded in agreement.Using all that power to vent my anger left me feeling a bit lightheaded. It was like I was starting to get used to my abilities, and to be honest, they were incredibly overwhelming.After the whole incident with Mr. Holt, I left the room to talk to Atticus. I wanted to ask him about the evidence, those supposed texts, and maybe some other things Maleeka mentioned. The tricky part was fig

Cynthia Dion:As he embraced me once more, I began to scream at the top of my voice. Flora's lifeless form was swathed in a blanket and completely gone. I can't even say it was recently placed here. It must have been months and months ago. It was my sister; she had been here all this time, and I had slept right above her."He didn't allow them to set me or the house ablaze because he feared someone might come to extinguish the fire and discover this," I sobbed and quivered, screaming until my lungs ached."Cynthia, please, try to calm down," he knew that saying that wouldn't achieve much, as this wasn't the right moment for me to settle."He will face the consequences," Atticus said as he released the hug and grasped my arms, locking eyes with me, causing my tears to cease immediately."I'm such a terrible sis--ter," I murmured, tears streaming down my face as I drifted into a daze. "She must have been so unhappy," I felt as if my heart might cease beating at any moment."I wonder how

Cynthia Dion:A few days have passed since I bid farewell to Flora at her proper funeral, but I haven't felt like myself since then. Fortunately, nobody tested my patience during my mourning period. Atticus also ensured that none of his pack members or Mara came too close to me.He had taken time off from his office as he was gearing up for exams and had been urging me to give it a shot too. I'm not sure who told him that the best way to take your mind off something is to hit the books, but honestly, it doesn't quite work that way.After several days, I finally ventured out of the bedroom to join everyone for breakfast. Atticus advised me to keep my emotions in check because he had some important announcements to make.I stepped out in a blue dress, not quite in the mood to tolerate anyone's nonsense that day. All eyes were on me, but there was a collective hush in the room.I was sure Maleeka had found yet another reason to harbor ill feelings toward me. My eccentric family was a bit

Cynthia Dion:I don’t know how long they stayed out because it seemed like only an hour when my bedroom door opened and closed. I was jolted awake by the noise, straightening my back to see who had come to my room."Atticus! Weren’t you supposed to be with them?" I rubbed my eyes in confusion, glancing at the clock on the wall. He had come early. I thought they would at least take a few hours because Mara had made some plans for a movie night as well."Well, as soon as the food arrived, I packed it and dashed here. I mean, I wasn’t really feeling the vibe, and besides, you were here," he said, holding the food bags with a sweet smile."You didn’t have to skip the celebration plans for me," I didn’t want to focus on him, on us. There might come a day when I will finally be able to forgive him, but it is too soon for now.He sat down on the bed and shook his head very steadily. "I couldn’t eat thinking you were left alone," he didn’t raise his eyes at me when talking about being worried

Cynthia Dion:It struck me as amusing how everyone readily gave him a pass when he claimed that I had seduced him into committing the unforgivable act of killing his own child. It seemed as though they believed his excuse somehow mitigated the gravity of the crime. Maleeka, driven by an unhealthy obsession with him, appeared willing to go to extreme lengths, even contemplating self-harm, whenever Atticus spoke against him."Stay back from my wife!" Atticus thundered in his deep, resonant voice, effectively preventing Mr. Holt from advancing any further.Determined not to become a victim of physical aggression, I stood my ground. Though I braced myself for a potential attack, Atticus' protective stance ensured Mr. Holt couldn't simply just raise his hand on me anymore. While I anticipated his reaction to the damning recording, I remained prepared for any assault."Get away from me!" Maleeka witnessed Atticus defending me, and the sight stung enough to provoke her into shouting at him a